Jack Ryan - Amazon Prime Series

[Iskaral Pust]

21 hours ago, Rhom said:

How do most people watch Amazon Prime?  Just on the tablet/desktop or using something like a Firestick?

 

Roku for TV, and iPad. 

I download episodes from Prime and Netflix on my iPad to watch during flights -- it's too physically uncomfortable to work on laptops during flights now, and I notice the seating discomfort more if I'm reading a book.

[Rhom]

Saw an ad pop up in my Facebook feed for Jean Claude Van Johnson on Prime and had a chuckle at what it showed.  May have to check out all these shows.

[Argonath Diver]

Wasn't the full episode 1 of JCVJ released last year? I swear I remember watching (and enjoying) a full episode, not just a trailer.

Also hilarious and out now on Amazon is Comrade Detective. It's hard to describe in one sentence. A fake 80s crime series set in Romania, then dubbed with a lot of recognizable current Hollywood voice acting. It's consistent corny fun, with some terrific one liners thrown in. ""I'm sure it's nothing, ma'am. It's just the neighbor's misguided attempt at re-distributing Nikita's wealth. Don't worry, go back to bed."

[Myrddin]

8 hours ago, Rhom said:

Saw an ad pop up in my Facebook feed for Jean Claude Van Johnson on Prime and had a chuckle at what it showed.  May have to check out all these shows.

Episode 1 is still up, but season 1 has been "coming soon" for a year or so. It's pretty funny. Very self aware. Not cerebral entertainment, but I'll be watching it when the full season is finished.

[RedEyedGhost]

8 hours ago, Argonath Diver said:

Wasn't the full episode 1 of JCVJ released last year? I swear I remember watching (and enjoying) a full episode, not just a trailer.

That's how Amazon does it.  Release the pilot, and if people like it, then they'll produce the series to show up a year⁺ later.

[Rhom]

3 hours ago, RedEyedGhost said:

That's how Amazon does it.  Release the pilot, and if people like it, then they'll produce the series to show up a year⁺ later.

Interesting. But Jack Ryan went straight to series?  

[Iskaral Pust]

Anyone watching this yet on Amazon Prime?

My wife and I caught the first three eps of eight over the long weekend.  Pretty good so far.  Production quality, scope of story, etc is comparable to a Hollywood movie but the story gets developed over 8 eps.  Some of the sequences in Syria from Hanin's POV are a bit too slow and largely pointless, but overall it's quite good.

Bunk Moreland (aka Wendell Pierce) reappears as Jim Greer, and doesn't look a day older despite ~15 years elapsing since The Wire.

I'm pretty disappointed that Jack Ryan's huge analytic contribution to the CIA, as a PhD in Economics, is to write a SQL query spanning two (2!!) databases.  Now I realize that the technical stuff just has to sound technical to satisfy the lowest common denominator in the audience, but that's some weak shit Jimmy.

[Corvinus85]

I watched the whole thing over the weekend. An easy binge; tight pace, lots of tension. Jim Greer was probably the best character for me. Jack was a bit bland at times.

The first half, and mainly the scenes in France were pretty good, but the end plot felt a bit too unrealistic. Since this deals with present day threats and issues, compared to most of Clancy's books, I wonder how much of the plots elements was taken from the books (having not read any). I feel like the end plot was inspired by something from the book.

I can see the next season being inspired by the Sum of All Fears.

[Mexal]

I've seen the first 3 episodes so far and am enjoying it. Looks pretty, seems plausible and I like that they give the bad guys some backstory and motivation that seems routed in their history. Krasinki's constant furrowed brow is annoying but Bunk is great.

[Rhom]

I have not had time to watch yet, but plan on it soon.

[red snow]

How refreshing to get a season just about the correct length maybe even an episode short instead of being dragged out.

This was a great mix of BBC political thrillers, 24 and homeland but without any of the stupidity (although a lot of coincidences). Wendell Pierce steals the show as a bad tempered yet shrewd CIA man. Krasinski is good as the boy scout too and the villain is great. Production values are top notch too. Yes, it's pretty predictable but I really don't mind when it's entertaining.

I think episode 6 was probably my favourite. I liked how we got to see Ryan's "nice guy" persona simply doesn't get the job done and his boss schooled him on every level. I also liked how grey the Turkish mob man was, yes he's a piece of shit but he honoured getting the job done. On the whole the show was quite good at showing how the villains weren't full time evil. Suliemann's end was a bit anticlimactic to be honest but I guess villains shouldn't always go out with a bang but with a simple bullet in the back. Plus while it seemed a premature end to a good villain I appreciate that they seem to be going for a "whole new setting each season" approach with good old Russia as the next posting.

Worthy of the hype Amazon is giving it to be honest and a step closer for Amazon having a mainstream hit on their hands.

[Rhom]

Does he feel like Jack Ryan?  I know that’s tough to define when we talk Baldwin/Ford/Affleck/Pine playing him.  

Almost forgot Pine.  Never saw the movie.  Didn’t look like Clancy to me.  That looked like an over the top action movie, which was not the more subtle political thriller depicted in the books.  So what is this?  Mission Impossible?  Or Casino Royale?

 

[Martini Sigil]

We went with Ozark first... and iron Fist is Fri... so we'll have to get this innext week.... it looks great though

 

[SerHaHa]

I'm hitting this up tonight for an all night binge, I too watched Ozark first, and want to get this out of the way for Fist this weekend too. 

I remember watching an Alec Baldwin interview last year when he spoke about his time doing Hunt for Red October - he mentioned how when you flew in a plane circa 1986 to the mid 90s, every 2nd male in the cabin seemed to be reading a Tom Clancy novel.  Struck home with me as I remember my drill band doing a tour of the South Pacific in the summer of 1988, I took 26 different flights that tour, and every single one, guys were reading TC novels that had just been released in paper back (Patriot Games IIRC, but it may have been Cardinal).

My life intersected twice with Clancy, I worked in QA for Redstorm prior to it being bought out, back when Redstorm created the first Rainbow 6 game for the PC. I also interviewed John Gresham when I was the editor at Combatsim.com back in 2001, who was Clancy's long time research assistant and co-author of the non fiction series based on the various US military units and services.

I still feel the best TC novel was one that didn't feature Jack Ryan, "Red Storm Rising" was and is still my favorite  military based techno-thriller.  Clancy co wrote it with Larry Bond, who had created the board game "Harpoon".  RSR was based on a naval campaign from that board game which theorized that the Soviet Union could defeat NATO, particularly at sea, if they seized Iceland and eliminated the GIUK gap early in a war between Nato and the Warsaw Pact. 

Without Remorse also was excellent, all without much contribution from the Jack Ryan character. 

[RedEyedGhost]

5 hours ago, Rhom said:

Does he feel like Jack Ryan? 

I can't answer that, never read any of the books.

5 hours ago, Rhom said:

So what is this?  Mission Impossible?  Or Casino Royale?

Definitely has more of a Casino Royale feel than Mission Impossible.

I really loved it throughout.  Ozark season 2 was fantastic, but I'm glad I watched this first.  I also anticipate that I'll be rewatching this again quite soon.  Really dug it.

[red snow]

10 hours ago, Rhom said:

Does he feel like Jack Ryan?  I know that’s tough to define when we talk Baldwin/Ford/Affleck/Pine playing him.  

Almost forgot Pine.  Never saw the movie.  Didn’t look like Clancy to me.  That looked like an over the top action movie, which was not the more subtle political thriller depicted in the books.  So what is this?  Mission Impossible?  Or Casino Royale?

 

Neither of those two really. More zero dark thirty in places and military spy films. TV wise it's like a really good "homeland" minus irrational characters who'd never be able to keep their jobs. The pacing reminds me more of BBC shows like "an honourable woman" "the night manager" and "state of play" but with a bigger budget and flashier action. 

[Iskaral Pust]

8 hours ago, red snow said:

Neither of those two really. More zero dark thirty in places and military spy films. TV wise it's like a really good "homeland" minus irrational characters who'd never be able to keep their jobs. The pacing reminds me more of BBC shows like "an honourable woman" "the night manager" and "state of play" but with a bigger budget and flashier action. 

Yes, that's the comparison I would use.

[red snow]

Has anyone watched the Chris pine jack Ryan? Like others mentioned the poster/trailer made it look more like "we couldn't get Tom cruise" action film which completely turned me off as that hasn't been the case with the character in other films. I'm sort of tempted to do a chronological rewatch. Although it would be neat if the show sort of does the same thing and adapts them. Besides the IRA most of the stories could still be done in a modern setting and who knows how northern/Ireland will be after brexit.

[Rhom]

3 hours ago, red snow said:

Has anyone watched the Chris pine jack Ryan? Like others mentioned the poster/trailer made it look more like "we couldn't get Tom cruise" action film which completely turned me off as that hasn't been the case with the character in other films. I'm sort of tempted to do a chronological rewatch. Although it would be neat if the show sort of does the same thing and adapts them. Besides the IRA most of the stories could still be done in a modern setting and who knows how northern/Ireland will be after brexit.

One of the great tragedies of our time is that Tom Clancy was taken from us before Russia re-emerged as a true international rival.

When he last wrote, he either had to shoehorn them as an ally (Bear and the Dragon) or go back in time (Red Rabbit.)

[Mexal]

5 hours ago, red snow said:

Has anyone watched the Chris pine jack Ryan? Like others mentioned the poster/trailer made it look more like "we couldn't get Tom cruise" action film which completely turned me off as that hasn't been the case with the character in other films. I'm sort of tempted to do a chronological rewatch. Although it would be neat if the show sort of does the same thing and adapts them. Besides the IRA most of the stories could still be done in a modern setting and who knows how northern/Ireland will be after brexit.

Yea, I saw it. Wasn't great. Different kind of movie.